Development of secondary flow field under rotating condition in a straight channel with square cross-section

Abstract

The developing secondary flow fields in the entrance section of a rotating straight channel were experimentally investigated using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The effects of streamwise position, Reynolds number and rotation number on the development of the secondary flow fields were revealed. The results show that the absolute values of vorticity flux of the trailing side roll cells increase with increasing radius of the measured plane and rotation number. When the absolute value of vorticity flux exceeds a critical value, the merging of the trailing side roll cells appears. Moreover, when the number of the trailing side vortex pairs is even, the absolute values of vorticity flux of the leading side vortices increase along streamwise direction. Otherwise, the absolute values decrease along the streamwise direction. By the circulation analysis, this phenomenon was found to have relationship with the merging of the trailing side roll cells, and further concluded that the secondary flow field in a rotating channel has to be treated as a whole. At last, the increase of the Reynolds number was found to be able to induce the merging position moves upstream.